As a blogger, I may be compensated in some way (either pay, product, or experience) for sharing the post below All opinions are my own. ~Heidi

Do you have a child who loves soccer? If so, then you should consider sending him or her to British Soccer Camp. Last week, my son Ian participated in this camp for the second time, and I’m every bit as impressed as I was last year. This camp is so much more than just teaching soccer skills (though, of course, that is the main focus), so I wanted to share the many things about this camp that make it special.

It’s the most popular soccer camp in the USA and Canada

Challenger’s British Soccer Camp is the most popular camp in the USA and Canada. With an innovative curriculum that develops skills, speed and confidence in players of all ages and abilities, British Soccer Camps provide boys and girls with the rare opportunity to receive high-level soccer coaching from a team of international expert’s right in the heart of their own community.

The counselors are international soccer experts

Challenger only recruits the most talented and enthusiastic coaches who have a genuine interest in providing your players with a memorable and positive experience!

The British Soccer curriculum has always been a collection of the best coaching ideas from Europe, South America and North America and campers have always loved the cultural elements of the camp and the international flavor of our World Cup. They are now pleased to be able to enhance thitruly globalal soccer experience by having coaches from a wide range of countries share their knowledge and passion for the game with 200,000 camp, clinic, tournament, and tour participants!

British Soccer summer camps and year round coaching programs boasts an incredible team of 1200+ coaches from Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Brazil, USA and Canada as well as our traditional team of Brits from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Wales.

This diversity of experiences and cultures reflects the truly global nature of the sport of soccer and British Soccer Camps are proud to share the best practices from around the globe with the many players, parents and coaches they work with throughout North America.

Your child will learn new skills and improve performance

Of course, this seems like the most obvious aspect of a soccer camp, right? And, indeed, they do work with the kids, both teaching them new skills and encouraging them to improve others.

Each day, the coaches will take the players through a progressive series of skill building practices from unopposed, to opposed, game related and finally into a game.

Freestyle – daily program of juggling, lifts and balances by John Farnworth.

In addition to soccer skills, kids are also taught character development

Each day of the week, they focus on a certain word that teaches good character. This was something that really impressed me because I think it’s lacking in my sports camp environments. The words are printed right on the kids’ balls, so there’s no excuse to forget them!

Respect

Show respect to the game, your coach, and the officials. Never question the referee and always listen to your coach.

Responsibility

Show responsibility to your teammates, family, and yourself. You are accountable for your actions on and off the field.

Integrity

Show integrity by being honest and following the rules. Always give 100% and never cheat.

Leadership

Show leadership by putting your team first in all of your decisions. Your example will inspire others.

Sportsmanship

Show sportsmanship by reacting correctly even when others do not. Acknowledge good plays made by others, accept bad calls and thank the opposing team for a good game no matter who wins.

Cultural education is also a part of the camp curriculum

Not only are the kids taught character development at camp, but they are also introduced to cultural education as well. The campers are divided into teams and each team represented a different World Cup Soccer Team. This year, my sound found himself on the New Zealand team. The kids are encouraged to do research to learn things about the country they are representing – and the facts are NOT supposed to be about their soccer team.

Ian and I learned lots of fun facts about New Zealand, such as:

There are no snakes in New Zealand

New Zealand contains the place that has the most letters in its name (I believe 50+ letters and I couldn’t begin to pronounce it)

It’s the first country that allowed women the right to vote (back in the late 1800’s, if I remember correctly)

and much more!

The kids were also encouraged to make flags to represent their countries and to wear the colors of the soccer team. This is a homeschool mom’s dream as it’s encouraging learning during the summer! And, trust me, your kid will want to do it because it will earn points for his/her team!

Your child will make memories that will last a lifetime!

When we arrived at soccer camp the first night, Ian and I were both surprised to be greeted by the same coach he had last year. We honestly weren’t expecting to see any of the same coaches because they have camps all over the place. He walked right up to us and greeted Ian by name! Wow! Now that’s pretty impressive for a guy who does many, many camps each summer! Yes, he had a list of the attendees for this week’s camp, but he knew MY SON by name. That meant a lot to both Ian and to me. (Of course, we remembered Andrew’s name as well!)

Each night, Ian rode home in the car with lots of stories to tell and he’s still talking about camp. Hopefully the skills that he learned this week will help him to a better soccer player; but, even more important, I hope he remembers the 5 words and applies them to his life.

At the end of the camp week, each child is presented with a certificate that includes a personal note from their coach.

Ian is already talking about going back next year. Maybe he’ll see your child there?!